Us Against the World
by KaitlynBelle
Summary: Why is the world determined to keep Troy and Gabriella apart? *NEW CHAPTER*
1. Close

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own High School Musical or I'd be filthy rich by now. I also don't own the lyrics used in this and/or other chapters.

**A/N:** Don't worry, this isn't another 'Gabriella gets pregnant' or 'Sharpay gets pregnant' or '_(Insert Name Here)_ has an incurable disease' or 'Troy and Gabriella meet again during/after college when Gabriella is already engaged/married to another man' type of fic. This is just a story about how Troy and Gabriella finally get together. Many opportunities were ruined in the movie, so perhaps they're trying to hint that it isn't going to be as easy as it seems.

**Us Against the World**

Chapter One:

_Close_

_------------------------------_

"_There is no one else that I can say this to  
And there is nothing better than to talk to you  
If you have a problem I'll be here for you..."_

_------------------------------_

Troy Bolton looked out over the sea of people, searching for a particular face. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes locked with deep brown ones.

Gabriella Montez smiled and waved excitedly, her long brown locks swishing around her shoulders. Troy gave her a genuine smile before nervously running a hand through his hair. _'There's no need to be nervous,'_ he told himself.

It was the night of the Annual Athletic Awards Banquet at East High School and the thirteen members of the East High Wildcats stood on the raised platform in front of a huge turn out of parents, students, and faculty.

"I never could have done it without the determination and dedication of each and every one of these guys," Coach Bolton was saying.

He was looking at the large, golden trophy sitting on the podium next to his arm, affixed with a statuette of a man shooting a basketball.

Jack turned back to the microphone, "We've all worked hard for this and it was something we really wanted. I'm just glad I could be a part of the Wildcats and hope to do the same next season." He raised his trophy in the air and gave a nod to the audience. "Thanks again for this award, it really means a lot!" With that, he walked to the far left of the stage, standing at the end of the long line of basketball players.

The crowd clapped and cheered while flashes of cameras captured the moment. Principal Matsui took Jack Bolton's place at the podium.

"Thank you, Coach Bolton, for a wonderful season that we here at East High can be proud of. Now, the next award is one that I'm sure you all know the recipient of—Most Valuable Basketball Player of the Year—" He glanced down at his index cards, just to make sure, before exclaiming, "Troy Bolton!"

Again, the horde of people clapped and cheered enthusiastically, even louder than before. Many were standing and shouting encouragements, including Gabriella. "Go Troy!"

Troy walked slowly to the podium and accepted the large trophy Principal Matsui held out to him. He smiled cautiously at the crowd and cleared his throat before turning to the microphone. Gabriella gave him two thumbs-up from the mass of people who were transfixed upon him, anticipating his every move.

"Coach is right," Troy began. "It took a lot of hard work and dedication from all of the players to get as far as the championships. They _don't_ come along everyday and that's why it was so special for us. Of course, being captain and having my dad as coach made my job a little tougher, but I think it was for the best. I've always tried to motivate my team and keep everyone positive." He glanced at the eleven boys staring back at him. "Other times, they kept _me_ positive."

Everyone clapped as the rest of the team joined Troy at the podium. Chad took over the microphone.

"Troy, you deserve it, man!" he exclaimed, his voice booming. "Now we can finally put your picture up there with the rest of the Wildcat legends as captain and MVP of the championship game."

"And if we have our way," added Jason, leaning over Chad's shoulder, into the microphone, "it's going to be _two-time_ MVP, with Troy leading us to back-to-back championships!"

"_Yeahhh!"_ the team agreed enthusiastically and cheered loudly while clapping Troy on the back.

"What team?" asked Chad.

"Wildcats!" cheered the team.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!" joined in the crowd.

"What team?"

"_Wildcats!" _

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Great job, man!" people kept telling Troy at the party being held at Chad's house to celebrate Troy's newly-gained MVP position. 

"East High sure loves its Wildcats," laughed Gabriella.

Troy grinned, "We've always been proud of our team's history. Every school needs some obsession; here, it's basketball."

"Sun High wasn't nearly as excited about their Lions," Gabriella told him. "But I guess most of the funding went to the science and A/V departments. Their programs are really nice and that's what first encouraged me to get into the academic teams."

Troy didn't really know much about Gabriella's life at her old school and so he couldn't help but ask, "Do you miss it?"

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, a little. But like I said, it's cool coming here and not being the freaky math girl anymore." She looked down and continued, "Though I guess that's going to change if I stay on the Scholastic Decathlon team."

"You don't have to give it up just because of what people might think of you. If it's something you like, you should do it for yourself and not anyone else. Who cares if people think you're a freaky math girl? I know you're much more than that and so will everyone else once we do the musical."

Gabriella looked up at Troy and smiled. _'How does he always know the right thing to say?'_ Okay, well maybe not always, but it certainly felt like it at the moment. "Thanks, Troy."

He smiled back. "Hey, just remember that I'm freaky callback boy, but I also substitute for 'freaky cheer-me-up guy.' "

Gabriella giggled as they continued to walk through the dimly lit living room which was serving its purpose as a makeshift dance floor. Chad's surround-sound stereo system pumped out the latest songs and one of his parents' old disco balls hung from the ceiling, showering slivers of silver shimmers spinning around the room.

Troy made his way to a long table draped in white tablecloth and pushed against the back wall. It was stocked with refreshments: chips, cookies, pizza, soda, punch, and the like.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked Gabriella as he reached for a plastic cup near the punch bowl. His throat was parched from having to yell over the loud music and from all the shouting he had done with his team earlier that day.

"Sure."

He poured two cups of punch and gave one to Gabriella. She accepted the drink gratefully and took a small, shy sip. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered uncontrollably.

'_This is it!'_ she thought. Something big was going to happen; she could feel it. _'Troy might finally kiss me tonight!'_

After Chad's interruption at the championship game two weeks ago, Gabriella was more than ready to try again. She knew how she felt about Troy and was pretty sure how he felt about her, yet they hadn't talked about it.

'_But something's there. Something's always been there.'_

"Do you miss your old friends?" asked Troy, snapping Gabriella out of her thoughts.

She took a second to regain her senses and remember what they had been talking about. "Well," she suddenly blushed, "I . . . never really _had_ friends. Not ones that I was close with, anyway."

Troy gaped at her. "What? But you're so nice . . . how could you _not_ have had friends?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I was shy and kept mostly to myself. Taylor's really the first person I can actually talk to. First _girl_, anyway," she added with another blush as she looked up at Troy.

He took her hand in his and gave it an understanding squeeze, glad she felt she could talk to him.

"C'mon," he said, setting down his cup.

Gabriella followed suit as Troy lead her to the middle of the crowded dance floor. A slow song had just started and Troy had decided to take his chances.

She smiled as she felt him hold her close, his hands wrapped protectively around her waist. As her hands went behind his neck, she couldn't help but grin into the lapel of his black blazer. Familiar words floated into her head, _' 'It feels so right to be here with you.' '_

Suddenly, Troy pulled back a little. "Gabriella, d-did you have a . . . boyfriend at your old school?" He knew it was a stupid question. Of course she had had a boyfriend at some point in time. He also knew better than to assume she had never been kissed. _'She's sixteen! I'm sure she's had some guy who treated her like a princess.'_

Gabriella stopped dancing momentarily. "Well, yeah," she answered. "But it wasn't anything serious."

'_Whew!'_ Troy let out a sigh of relief. "Good," he said aloud and then immediately blushed. "I-I mean, um . . . good thing it wasn't serious. You know, since you had to move from San Diego all the way to Albuquerque."

"Yeah, good thing," mumbled Gabriella. She was hoping this would lead to Troy finally asking her out, but it did not.

"Hey, do you want to get out here?" asked Troy, his lips brushing against her ear as he tried to make himself heard over the fast hip-hop song that was beginning to beat through the speakers.

Gabriella could only nod as Troy took her hand again and expertly maneuvered his way through the thick throng of dancing teens. He held her hand even after they had reached the patio and breathed in the soft, sweet smell of the nearly-spring air. Gabriella sighed happily; she was acutely aware of the smooth hand still gripping her smaller one in a firm but comfortable hold. However, she certainly wasn't about to protest.

They continued their stroll into the backyard and came to a rest under a large pine tree. It was a short distance away from the house, yet the music was muffled, making them seem miles away from the rest of the world. This time Troy sighed, looking up at the vast, midnight sky. It was a massive pool of black, littered with millions of twinkling silver stars.

"It's so perfect out here," whispered Gabriella, not wanting to spoil the serene moment. "Like everything's in its place . . . the way it's supposed to be."

"Yeah . . ." agreed Troy, leaning against the tree and pulling Gabriella with him.

His back was against the tree and she was pressed against his chest. Troy realized their faces were close as his breathing became a just little harder. For once, Gabriella took the initiative, her hand trailing up his chest. Troy lifted her chin ever-so-slightly, looking into her deep, brown eyes.

"_Gabriella_," he breathed, silently begging for her permission. She gave the slightest nod, but it was all that he needed. Troy slowly lowered his face, delicately titling her chin towards him as her eyes slid closed—

"Hey, Troy!" came an unexpected yell from Chad. He was coming out of the glass doors that led to the patio. "Where have you been, man? We've all been looking for y—" he abruptly stopped, his eyes darting back and forth from Troy to Gabriella. "Am I interrupting something here?" he asked uncertainly.

Neither Troy nor Gabriella stepped away from each other, but they did move apart so they were only holding hands. Gabriella looked at Troy as Chad waited for an answer.

"Um . . . no, not at all," said Troy. "We just came out here to get some air."

'_Apparently, that's not _all_ they came to get,' _Chad thought with a smirk. Nevertheless, he looked dubious as he told them about Zeke and Jason's chocolate-syrup-and-whipped-cream slide in the kitchen. "Just thought you might like to join in the fun."

Troy forced a smile. "Yeah, sounds great. We'll be there in a minute."

"Take your time," said Chad as he walked back towards the patio and into the house.

"Uh . . . what time to do you have to be home?" asked Troy, thoroughly embarrassed by another interruption.

Gabriella seemed just as flustered as she replied, "Mom said one, but it's okay if I'm a little late."

"Well," said Troy, looked down at his watch, "you still have almost another hour. Want to check out the slide?"

Gabriella shrugged disappointedly. "Sure." She would have much rather stayed out there, but she knew the moment was ruined.

"Listen, Gabriella—about tonight . . . I mean, about what just happened, I—" Troy said hurriedly but was cut off by a peck on the cheek from Gabriella.

"We'll get our chance," she told him, taking his hand and leading him into the house. "Now as for that slide . . ."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know it's a little short and also the whole party thing has become an HSM-fanfic cliché, but I couldn't help myself. This chapter kind of wrote itself. Oh, and don't even ask about the chocolate syrup slide . . . I have no clue where that came from . . . 

The lyrics are by Play, by the way.


	2. Almost

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own High School Musical or I'd be filthy rich by now. I also don't own the lyrics used in this and/or other chapters.

**A/N: **I hope you guys like this chapter. I really don't have this story planned out at all and that's why it's taking so long for me to update. Normally, planning doesn't work for me, so I'll be taking things as they come. There's also a 'cultural reference' in here. I'll give a shout-out in the next chapter to anyone who gets it.

**Us Against the World**

Chapter Two:

_Almost_

------------------------------

"_If I had one wish, we would be best friends  
Love would never end, it would just begin  
If I had one wish, you would be my boo  
Promise to love you, trust me I'll trust you.."_

------------------------------

Gabriella laughed as she got out of Troy's car.

"Sorry about that," she said, pointing to the sticky, chocolate covered handle of the door. In fact, _she_ was covered with chocolate. The front of her shirt was smeared with syrup and cream, as well as the front of her jeans.

"It's okay," said Troy, also covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

They had slid across Chad's kitchen floor on their stomachs in the messy trail Zeke and Jason prepared. It was so much fun that they had decided to participate two more times. This had left them with chocolate all the way up past their elbows as well as whipped cream speckled in their hair.

Troy walked Gabriella to her doorstep, his arms sticking uncomfortably to the insides of his blazer's sleeves.

"Um, well that was crazy," he said, as they stood under the porch light.

"Yeah, I definitely didn't plan on becoming a desert tonight," said Gabriella with a grin. Her hair was clumped with chocolate, making it stand in awkward places.

"Thanks for, you know, coming to the banquet and everything."

Gabriella could only nod.

"I guess I'll see you at school," said Troy. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he gathered his courage and leaned forward to kiss her good night.

"I thought I heard a car pull up," said Ms. Montez as she opened the door. "Oh, do you need another minute?" she asked nicely upon seeing Troy and Gabriella.

Troy blushed as Gabriella smiled, "No, Mom, Troy was just, um, leaving."

Troy quickly agreed, "Yeah, I should head home. Nice seeing you again, Ms. Montez."

"You too, Troy. Thank you for bringing Gabby home."

"No problem."

Troy waved at the mother and daughter standing in the doorway before walking to his car. "Well," he said aloud as he sat behind the steering wheel and reached for his seatbelt, "that was embarrassing."

------------------------------

As soon as the door clicked shut, Gabriella hurried to the stairs.

"Gabby," her mom called, "aren't you going to tell me how your night went?"

Gabriella turned on her heel to face her mother. "It was fun," she simply said.

Ms. Montez laughed. "Well, I can see that from your clothes!" she exclaimed.

"Chocolate-syrup-and-whipped-cream slide," Gabriella explained with a sheepish smile. "Not something I'd usually do, but," she sighed happily, "everything's so different with Troy."

"Ah, Troy," said her mom. "Isn't he one of the most handsome boys ever? He seems so sweet, too."

"He's both," smiled Gabriella.

Seeing the look upon her daughter's face, she just had to ask, "So, has he kissed you yet?"

"_Mamí!"_ Gabriella exclaimed with surprise. "Troy and I, we're . . . it's not like. . ." she stammered before finally giving in. "No, he hasn't."

"Yet," added her mom.

"Yet," agreed Gabriella.

"Why don't you shower up and then we can discuss this 'boy talk'?" suggested Ms. Montez.

"_Mamí_, it's 1:15 in the morning," said Gabriella, glancing at the clock on the mantle.

"I didn't stay up all night to miss out on the details," her mother told her.

Gabriella laughed, "Oh, Mom."

Her mother was one of a kind. She was always a friend along with a parental figure and Gabriella had to admit, she and her mom talked about everything. Until Troy, Gabriella really had no one else to talk to except for her mom. There was a side of her that only her mother and Troy knew and Troy brought out a side of her that _she_ didn't even know.

------------------------------

"So, _míja_, tell me everything," said an overly-excited Ms. Montez.

"_Mamí_, there isn't anything to tell," laughed Gabriella.

It was a quarter to two now as Gabriella sat in her pajamas, her wet hair wrapped in a towel, having a discussion with her mother about, of all things, Troy Bolton.

"He seems like the perfect guy," commented Ms. Montez.

"You've only met him twice," Gabriella pointed out.

"Oh, please," said her mom, brushing off her daughter's remark. "Ever sincewinter break,all I've heard is, 'Troy, Troy, Troy.' And after finally meeting the object of my daughter's affection, I'd have to say, I agree with your sentiments."

Gabriella blushed; had she really talked about Troy that much?

Her mom's face suddenly turned serious. "You know, it's hard," she said, "being a single parent. I automatically get to play the roles of mom _and_ dad. There's a part of me—the mom-side of me that remembers what it was like being your age—that wants you to go out there, live life, and have fun."

She sighed deeply, "But there's another part of me that feels like I still need to protect you from the dangers that the world holds. It's hard out there. Sometimes, it feels as if making it through each day is punishment enough. But that's what makes it worthwhile: you can't appreciate the good days without going through the bad ones."

Ms. Montez sighed again, grasping her daughter's shoulders. With a solemn look, she said, "I just don't want you to get hurt. No parent ever wants to see their child in pain. Gabby, I've been around the block a few times and I can tell you that Troy is a _good kid_. I believe he genuinely cares about you. However, life sometimes had a weird way of making things work out. I don't want o see either one of you hurt, but I can't protect you from those circumstances . . . should they arrive."

"What are you trying to say, Mom?" questioned Gabriella with a hard tone. "That Troy will hurt me? Or that I'll hurt him?"

Her mother's face was unreadable. "Sometimes," she said in a torn voice, ". . . things happen that can change our entire perspective. It's not just Troy; it could be anyone. Now that you're starting to open up to people, you have to be careful."

Gabriella gave her mom a hug. "I know you're just trying to look out for me, Mom, but I'll be okay; you have to take off the training wheels someday."

Gabriella was worried. Her mother hardly ever became so serious and emotional. And yet, there seemed to be a sad note in her voice, leading Gabriella to believe it was something serious, indeed.

------------------------------

"Hey, Troy," greeted Gabriella, as she opened the passenger side door of his car. "I see you managed to wipe off the chocolate from the other night," she said, getting in and buckling her seatbelt.

"Yeah," said Troy, "it wasn't too bad."

"Oh, guess what?" asked Gabriella, suddenly excited. "My mom might be getting me a car!" she exclaimed before Troy could venture a guess.

"Awesome; what kind?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll be happy with almost anything, as long as it's my own."

Although Gabriella had her driver's license, her mom owned only one car, which she drove to work everyday. Gabriella had been riding the bus to school until Troy started picking her up about a week ago.

"My mom was going to get me one for my sixteenth birthday while we were still in San Diego, but then she got transferred. But now that we're settled in, I started nagging her about it and she finally agreed."

"You? Nag?" asked Troy in mock surprise. "Now that's a shocker."

"Hey!" exclaimed Gabriella, playfully hitting his arm.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding!" said Troy, as he checked his rearview mirror and pulled out onto the street.

------------------------------

Troy paid for his milk and waited as Gabriella went through the lunch line with her tray of food. He smiled at her, gripping the brown paper bag that contained his own lunch, and together, they walked to a center table. Lately, Gabriella had been sitting at Troy's table, along with some of the other boys from the basketball team. Sometimes, Taylor would also sit with them, usually because of Chad.

Today, however, there was no Taylor to be seen. Gabriella had lost track of her after fourth period.

As they sat down, Jason, who was already seated, seemed to be discussing something with Chad.

"Troy, man, tell Chad that Katey Miller _was_ the girl he spilled his drink all over at that party last month," insisted Jason.

"Dude, I'm telling you, Katey Miller's the cute college freshman with the blonde hair . . . amazing dancer. Isn't she Troy?" Chad looked to his best friend for approval.

Troy put his hands out in front of him in defense. "Guys, I told you; I don't remember anything about that night."

"Except for the pink jelly," put in Jason.

Troy nodded, "Yeah, and that was only because it was the first thing I saw before I passed out in the backyard."

"Whoa, what happened?" asked Gabriella. "Sounds like an interesting night."

"Oh, believe me, it was," said Chad.

Jason grinned, "That had to be the craziest night of our lives . . . so far."

"Wait a minute, just how crazy?" inquired Gabriella.

"Let me start from the beginning, since that's basically all I remember," Troy said, putting his milk carton down and turning towards Gabriella. "Well, Jason's parents were in Chicago for the weekend; I think it was the weekend before you started school here—the last weekend of winter break—and the guys were going to have a party at his house. Jason's older brother bought us a ton of alcohol, even though we didn't ask for it. Somehow, practically the whole school ended up at Jason's house and it was one wild party," explained Troy.

"Yeah, even the drama club was there, along with a couple of brainiacs!" added Zeke, hardly believing such a thing was possible.

"Kelsi wasn't," Jason immediately interjected.

"How would you know?" asked Chad. "You were completely out of it." Then he laughed, thinking back on that day. "I remember Sharpay was so drunk . . . she couldn't find anyone to play strip poker with so she ended up dancing on the coffee table in her underwear. She was going for her bra and would've been dancing practically naked if Zeke hadn't pulled her away," laughed Chad.

"Where was Ryan in all this?" asked Gabriella. "I'm surprised he would leave his sister's side, especially at a party."

"Oh, well, Ryan had too much to drink—like the rest of us—and was off in some corner, making out with _three_ girls . . . at the same time!" Jason told her, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wow, sounds pretty crazy," said Gabriella. Inside, she was relieved that she hadn't met Troy or any of the others before the party. _'Who knows what would have happened to me if I had went?'_

"Yeah, but the craziest part," said Chad, "was when Sharpay and Ryan made out. They were too drunk to realize who they were kissing until about fifteen minutes later."

Jason laughed, "Yeah, you could have probably heard their screams all the way in San Diego, Gabriella."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Actually, I moved here a few days before the party. I just waited to start school until most of our stuff was moved in. Still, I don't I'll ever look at them the same way again."

"You get used to it," shrugged Troy. "It's not too bad anymore . . . mostly funny."

"_Definitely_ funny," reaffirmed Jason.

"That's one detail about that party that I couldn't forget if I tried," said Troy.

Taylor suddenly walked up to their table, her lunch tray held out in front of her. "Mind if I join you guys?" she asked timidly.

"What, and leave your chemistry cronies behind?" Chad asked harshly, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb in the direction of the group of five or six people expectantly watching Taylor.

Taylor's face dropped. "Oh, I guess I'll just . . . um, go back."

The other boys shared looks of surprise, wondering if anyone knew what was going on, as Taylor walked dejectedly back to her table.

Troy leaned over to Gabriella. "I thought Taylor had gotten over that whole 'all-jocks-are-idiots' stage. Didn't Chad and Taylor like each other?"

"No, they had a fight; Taylor really screwed up," Gabriella whispered back. "Didn't Chad tell you?"

Troy shook his head, "No, he didn't."

'_Why wouldn't Chad tell me that they had a fight?' _thought Troy. Instead of asking him, however, Troy decided to leave the issue alone. _'If he wanted to tell me, he would have.'_

"Hey, I left my history book on the roof; do you want to come with me to get it?" Troy asked Gabriella, shaking away all thoughts of Chad and Taylor, while offering her his hand.

"Uh, sure," replied Gabriella, taking his hand as she rose from the table.

"You two have fun getting that 'history book,' if that's what you want to call it," said Chad with a laugh as he used finger quotes. He seemed to ignore the fact that Taylor was even there, let alone the tension between them.

Troy just rolled his eyes while Gabriella giggled.

"It's the middle of the day," she said.

"Yeah, on a secluded rooftop garden," Chad shot back.

"_What?_" Troy asked incredulously. "I really did leave my book up there," he muttered, making his way up the stairs.

As they approached the garden, Gabriella stopped to smell some of the flowers before taking a seat on the bench. Troy, finding his history book hiding behind a particularly pointy potted cactus, joined her shortly afterwards.

"Okay," confessed Troy. "I guess I didn't just ask you to come up here to get my book. I kind of wanted to talk to you about the other night . . . about . . . us."

"Is there even an 'us'?" asked Gabriella, looking into his eyes. She had never noticed how clear and blue they were.

"If you want there to be, then I guess it could be a definite possibility," Troy answered with an embarrassed grin.

Gabriella smiled. "Well, I want there to be," she said bravely.

Troy tried to hold back a smile of his own, but found it impossible. "Gabriella, I really like you . . . a lot," he began. "I was just so afraid you would turn me down or something," he admitted.

"C'mon, Troy, has a girl _ever_ turned you down?" asked Gabriella. She could tell from his slight blush that the answer was no. "But to tell you the truth," she continued, "I really like you, too . . . a lot," she added in a softer tone.

"Glad to hear it," said Troy, reaching for her hand. Once again, he leaned forward, deciding it was the perfect moment for a kiss. This time—

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

Troy sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's go or we'll be late for class."

He took her hand and they quickly fled down the steps and into the mass of busy students.

------------------------------

"So what was that about?" Taylor asked Gabriella, as they settled into respective chemistry stations. She had seen Troy lead her up to the roof.

"I think we're . . . a couple," whispered Gabriella, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"You think?" asked a preposterous Taylor. "Either you are or you aren't. What you mean _you think_?"

"Well," Gabriella answered slowly, as she twirled apiece of her long, dark hair between her fingers, "he told me he liked me."

"And . . .?" Taylor gestured for her to continue.

Gabriella shrugged. "And I told him I liked him, too," she finished.

"That's it?" questioned an astonished Taylor. "That's all? He didn't ask you out? He didn't kiss you? He didn't tell you he'd call you tonight?"

"No, why?" asked Gabriella, as she opened her notebook and began to take notes.

Taylor sighed tiredly and began to take notes as well. "It's always so complicated with you two. It can never be a simple dinner and a movie, can it?"

Gabriella was tempted to say that Taylor's relationship with Chad wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but resisted the urge, knowing her friend was already sensitive about the subject.

The teacher then began to explain the different allotropes, hygroscopes, and desiccants of molecular elements, effectively putting an end to their conversation.

------------------------------

"What do you mean by that?" asked Gabriella, as Taylor, once again, began to exasperate her about her relationship with Troy.

School was over and the two girls were headed to their lockers.

"Listen," said Taylor, stopping Gabriella in the middle of the hallway and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You've been here for a little over a month and everyone knows that you and Troy have . . . _a thing_ for each other."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, shifting the weight of her books from one hand to the other. "Why would they think that?"

"Gee, I don't know," said Taylor with mock confusion, "maybe because you two have been dancing around each other since before you even arrived!"

Gabriella started to protest, but Taylor cut her off. "You told me about the ski lodge, Gabriella. I know you've been crushing on him ever since."

Gabriella suddenly became self-conscious, as she glanced around at the dozens of teens putting their books away and heading outside. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Taylor. Then she smiled, "Now, c'mon; do you need a ride or does Basketball Boy have you covered?"

"Actually, there's practice for the musical today," replied Gabriella.

As if on cue, Troy suddenly made his way towards them. "Hey, there you are," he said. "Ready for rehearsals?"

"Yeah, let's go."

------------------------------

"Minnie, you can't just go!" exclaimed Troy. "Don't you remember what it was like? When we first came here, we would sit and stare at the sky for hours, talking about how someday we'd shine as bright as the stars. Whatever happened to those days?"

"They're gone, Arnold," replied Gabriella with remorse. "Things change; _people_ change."

"Well, I want to make things right between us," Troy said determinedly. He took Gabriella's hand. "Come sit on the balcony with me. Come look at the sky."

At this point, the black sky backdrop with the glittering stars and cityscape was supposed to slowly descend behind Troy and Gabriella, along with the oversized and personified moon.

"_Cut!_" shouted an irritated Ms. Darbus. "Where's my set?"

The stage crew appeared from behind the red curtains and various props. No one said a word.

Ms. Darbus sighed. "Bolton! Montez! Take a break; I have to go figure out which one of these bumbling idiots doesn't know how to lower a backdrop."

She threw her colorful scarf over her shoulder before mounting the steps to the stage.

"Good job, Gabriella," commended Troy, as the two of them stepped off the stage and sat down in the first row of seats. "You only called me 'Troy' twice today."

Gabriella had some trouble getting used to the fact that Troy was supposed to be Arnold and she was supposed to be Minnie. She would often call Troy by the wrong name and forget to respond when she was referred to as Minnie. It also turned out that starring in a musical and having a solo in the church choir were two very different things.

"Hey," she said in defense of herself, "I'm getting better."

"I know, I know; I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Oh," said Gabriella. "Well, then, thanks."

They each grabbed a bottle of water off Ms. Darbus's small table situated directing in front of the stage. Gabriella settled back into the reclining auditorium seat and flipped through the _Twinkle Towne _script, going over the next scene intently.

Troy, meanwhile, fidgeted uneasily with the bottle cap, pacing eagerly in front of her. "Um, Gabriella?" he asked uncertainly.

"Hmm?" she replied distractedly, not taking her eyes off the script.

"Well, I . . . um, was wondering what you were doing this weekend."

Gabriella suddenly looked up at him, forgetting all about the script. "Uh, nothing much . . . why?"

"Do you want to, er, do something? Like, together?"

"Like a date?" asked Gabriella.

"Yes," said Troy unwaveringly.

Gabriella let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Okay; yeah, that sounds great," she said with a smile.

"Awesome," Troy smiled back. "I'll call you later to make plans."

Gabriella could only nod. Inside, felt fireworks erupting in the pit of her stomach. _'Wow, I can't believe I'm so excited over the prospect of a date. I wonder what I'd feel if he actually kissed me. That is, if don't get interrupted for once,'_ she added.

"Okay, people, ready on stage!" called Ms. Darbus, returning to her seat. She clapped her hands twice. "Act One, Scene Six," she said.

With a sigh, Troy and Gabriella returned to redo the scene for the fifth time that day.

------------------------------

"_If I had one wish, we would run away  
Making love all day, have us a baby  
If I had one wish, I'd make you my whole life  
And you'd be my wife, make it right this time..."_

------------------------------

* * *

Lyrics - Ray J., _One Wish_

**A/N: **I wasn't planning on having Chad and Taylor apart, but that's the way things turned out. I think the pairings have became really cliché in HSM fics, however, that really can't be helped unless there's an original character, a concept which I am not too fond of.

Anyway, Troy and Gabriella will obviously be together and so will Chad and Taylor. What do you think Taylor did to make Chad so mad at her? Also, I don't like it when Jason and Kelsi suddenly like each other. Jason helped her make a basket and took her hat off; that doesn't always equal love!

By the way, I just realized while proofreading this chapter that the lines I wrote for the musical actually fit its name! I was just making things up as I went along. Isn't that ironic? They'll be more scenes from the musical though, because I have a story kind of planned out for it.

Oh, did anyone get the 'cultural reference' in this chapter?

I'm definitely open to ideas so tell me where you guys think I should go with this.


	3. Conversations

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own High School Musical or I'd be filthy rich by now. I also don't own the lyrics used in this and/or other chapters. I do, however, own all the ideas for the _Twinkle Towne _musical, including the summary, plot, script, original songs, and anything else you might not recognize.

**A/N: **The 'cultural reference' I was referring to was **Katey Miller**. That is the name of Romola Garai's character in _Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights_(which is one of my favorite movies, by the way). There's a huge surprise in this chapter that I hope no one saw coming, because if they did, it wouldn't really be a surprise. Anyway, enjoy!

**Us Against the World**

Chapter Three:

_Conversations_

------------------------------

"_Just let it die, with no goodbyes  
Details don't matter, we both paid the price  
Tears in my eyes..."_

------------------------------

"Gabriella, I don't know what I'm going to do," Taylor said over the phone in desperation. "I've tried to apologize, but he won't even let me get a word in. He hates me, Gabriella, he hates me."

"Well," said Gabriella, making herself comfortable on her bed as she clutched her cell phone between her ear and her shoulder. "He has a reason to be mad, you know."

Taylor sighed. "Yeah, but I thought you were on my side."

"I _am _on your side," Gabriella reassured her. "It's just that Chad has every right to be angry. It's going to take him some time to forgive you."

"_If_ he forgives me," stated a depressed Taylor. "It's just that . . . I truly care about him. I know I've been horrible to him in the past, but I didn't really know him then. I guess it didn't help that I was a little jealous of him, too. He was popular and had friends—_real_ friends—like Troy, Zeke, and Jason. Everyone knew who he was and they all loved him. Well, it wasn't just him, I suppose. It was mostly Troy, but I wasn't exactly nice to any of them."

Gabriella let Taylor rant about how difficult she had been and how awful she was to always insult the school's athletes.

"And then, I tried to break up you and Troy. God, I was an idiot!" she exclaimed. "Would you have hated me forever if our plan had worked?"

"I don't know," Gabriella replied honestly. "Even though you planned it, it _was _Troy's fault. Still, it was terrible of you do something like that."

Taylor groaned. "I'm so sorry. What if you and Troy had never made up? It would have been all my fault! It's just that Chad asked me to help him and I wanted you to join the Scholastic Decathlon team so badly. More than that, I wanted your friendship. Besides, Chad was so different than I had imagined him to be. We kind of think the same way and I found myself liking him more and more. Oh, Gabriella, what am I going to do?"

Gabriella sighed. It was the fourth time that night Taylor had asked her what to do. She switched the phone to her other ear before answering. "We'll think of something, Taylor, don't worry. Take my advice and give Chad some time; he'll come around."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, no, but I think he will. Do you want me to talk to Troy about it? Perhaps he can convince Chad to talk to you?"

"No, no, no, no," Taylor immediately protested. "I don't want anyone to force him to talk to me. Besides, I doubt Troy even wants Chad to talk to me."

"Troy doesn't know what happened," said Gabriella.

"What? Chad didn't tell him?"

Gabriella shook her head out of habit, even though Taylor couldn't see her, "No, I don't think he's told anyone. He would have told Troy first and foremost and yet, he hasn't."

"Gabriella?" asked Taylor warily.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening to me. I know I sound crazy, but to tell you the truth, if you had told me a month ago that I would be stressing out over a boy—Chad Danforth, nonetheless—I know I would've thought I was crazy, too."

"No problem," responded Gabriella. "It'll work out; you'll see."

------------------------------

Gabriella made her way to the music room the next day before school. Kelsi was already playing quietly on the piano.

"Hey," greeted Gabriella.

Kelsi hit a wrong note and quickly turned around, a hand pressed to her chest.

"I didn't mean to startle you," Gabriella said.

"Oh, it's okay," said Kelsi. "I'm just not used to having people around. Besides, I'm a little jumpy in the mornings."

"Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, where should we start?"

Kelsi ruffled through a stack of sheet music sitting on the piano before pulling out a few pages. "Your second solo," she said, sitting down on the black bench and placing the music in front of her. "Ready?" She poised her fingers over the ivory keys and began to play the introduction to a song called, '_What's the Matter with Love (These Days)?'_

They ran through the song twice before Kelsi abruptly decided to take break. "Classes start in three minutes, anyway," she said, looking at her watch.

"Troy and I will meet you back here after school," Gabriella reminded her. There were no musical rehearsals on Wednesdays, yet Ms. Darbus had suggested the two brush up on the numbers from the third act.

Kelsi nodded absentmindedly. "Um, Gabriella? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Gabriella, putting the sheet music in order.

"It's about . . . _boys_," Kelsi hesitantly told her.

Gabriella placed the music on the piano. "Oh," she said, feeling like a mother talking to her daughter. "What is it?"

"Well, there's one that's following me," said Kelsi. Upon seeing the alarmed look on Gabriella's face, she quickly corrected, "Not exactly following. More like, he's always trying to help me and talk to me." She leaned in closer and whispered, "He even asked me to go to a movie with him this Friday."

"What did you say?"

Kelsi seemed surprised that Gabriella had even asked. "I said no, of course! I told him I would be busy with a sonata all weekend."

"Why did you do that? You could have given the poor guy a chance, Kelsi. He obviously likes you."

"No, I don't date," said Kelsi. "Furthermore, he's . . . _not my type_."

Gabriella giggled. "If you don't date, then how do you know what your type is?"

Kelsi just shrugged.

"Wait a minute," said Gabriella, as she had a revelation. "This boy wouldn't happen to have been Jason Cross, would it?"

Kelsi blushed as she busied herself with several pages of music.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Gabriella. "I thought he liked you!"

"He can't like me," said Kelsi.

Gabriella crossed her arms. "And why not?"

"Because . . ." Kelsi stated blankly, scrambling for an excuse. "Boys don't like me. I'm not smart or pretty or popular . . . or—or any of those things that guys like."

"Kelsi, you _are_ pretty and you're very talented. How many girls our age have written full-length musicals, let alone composed and performed every song?"

"It's not a big deal," said Kelsi, staring at the ground. "To most of the school, I'm invisible."

"Maybe that was true before, but not anymore. Troy, Zeke, Jason, Chad, Taylor, and I know you now. Besides, people can't see you if you don't let them." The bell rang at that moment. "I'm going to go," said Gabriella, gathering her things. "But I really think you should give Jason a chance. Just see what happens."

------------------------------

"You're really coming along on that solo," Troy told Gabriella on the phone that night.

Gabriella smiled. "I _have_ been practicing with Kelsi."

"It's not just that; you're really getting good with that whole 'stage presence' thing that Ms. Darbus is always complaining about. You kind of seem to _become_ an unrequited lover."

"I am," Gabriella said without thinking. Her face turned so red, she could feel the heat rise from her cheeks. Good thing Troy wasn't there in person.

An awkward sort of silence fell between them.

"So, um, about that date . . ." Troy finally said.

"Yeah?" Gabriella asked eagerly, ready to move on from her slip-up.

"I was thinking we could spend the whole day together, you know, hang out . . ." he waited for her reaction.

"That sounds good," Gabriella told him. "I don't want things to be weird."

"Me neither," agreed Troy. "Then that night, we could do the typical date stuff. Dinner and a movie?"

Gabriella held back a laugh. _'And Taylor said we were too complicated for something as simple as that.'_ "Yeah, typical date stuff," she repeated aloud. She could hardly believe her luck: she, Gabriella Montez, was going on a typical date with Troy Bolton. Boy, would the girls at school be jealous.

"How's Saturday?" asked Troy. "We can easily waste a whole day in Albuquerque."

"Saturday's good," said Gabriella. "You can show me the sights." She was only half joking, as she had yet to explore the city.

"Well, let's see," said Troy, thinking about all the places he could possibly take a girl he truly liked. "We can go to the BioPark," he said. "They've got the Albuquerque Aquarium, the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, the Rio Grande Zoo, and Tingley Beach. It's not actually a beach anymore," he informed her. "It's mostly nature trails and picnic areas. There's also a Shakespearean community somewhere, but I've never been to it."

"Oh, let's go watch a play!" exclaimed Gabriella.

Troy remained silent for a second before asking, "You're joking, right?"

Gabriella laughed. "Yes, Troy, I'm joking. I wouldn't make you sit through that. Besides, it doesn't sound like the perfect date to me."

'_Great,'_ thought Troy. _'Now I have to make this the perfect date.'_

"Actually, there's not too much to do in Albuquerque," he admitted.

"What happened to, 'Oh, we could easily waste a whole day in Albuquerque'?" teased Gabriella.

"Okay, so maybe I lied."

Gabriella smiled, "It doesn't matter what we do, Troy. Just spending the whole day with you will be perfect," she told him. "Besides, you're taking me out for that dinner and movie, remember?"

------------------------------

"Troy, who were you talking in your room with your door locked?" asked Mrs. Bolton.

"Oh, um," Troy rubbed the back of his neck as he put the cordless phone on the charger. "Gabriella," he replied sheepishly.

"Oh, Gabriella," repeated Mrs. Bolton. "I should have guessed. You know, I've heard nothing but non-stop comments about her from both you and your father and I have yet to meet her. Why don't you invite her over for dinner some time?"

Troy furrowed his brow. "Dad was talking about her?"

"It was mostly about how she was distracting you from the championship game and landing you in detention, but I think he's okay with it now," his mom explained.

"Yeah, I think he was trying to tell me that the other day," said Troy.

"You know your father," said Mrs. Bolton. "He always has a hard time expressing his feelings. He just doesn't have a way with words like some people. It's a wonder he was able to sweep me off my feet," she said in reminiscence. "Anyway, when can I expect your girlfriend for dinner?"

Troy blushed slightly. "Gabriella's not exactly my girlfriend."

"You haven't asked her out?" his mom asked disbelievingly. "I thought you liked this girl."

"I do, Mom. We have a date this Saturday," he told her with a smile. "We're taking things really slow. I don't want to mess it up."

"That's sweet, Troy. But you might want to pick up the pace; you never know when someone else might beat you to it."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Sure, Mom." He made his way to garage where he grabbed a couple of basketballs. "I'm going to go shoot some hoops!" he called over his shoulder before walking out the door.

------------------------------

"Dude, can I talk to you?" came Chad's voice.

"Sure, man," replied Troy, his breathing slightly ragged. Chad had called while Troy was working on his free throws and coming up with some new plays. Good thing he always kept his phone on him. "What's up?"

"It's . . . Taylor," Chad told him tentatively.

"Oh," said Troy, lying down on the grass near the court. He had figured Chad would eventually come to him, but hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Has Gabriella already talked to you about this?" asked Chad suspiciously.

"She just told me that Taylor did something to really mess up your relationship."

Chad sighed. "Yeah, but I haven't exactly been helping. She's even tried to apologize a couple times, but I just ignored her."

"Taylor's always been stubborn," Troy told her. "Remember that time our class was raising money for the new panda bear exhibit at the zoo? She refused to turn in the money until we reached the amount they needed. Not to mention she believed you were a mindless jock until about a month ago."

"Hey, she thought that about you, too," objected Chad. "In fact, I think she still believes that you're not only a mindless jock, but the _captain_ of all mindless jocks. She only puts up with you because you're with Gabriella."

"Ha ha," Troy said sarcastically. "What I was trying to say was that Taylor's really stubborn. So, if she actually came up to you and apologized, more than once even, she obviously cares enough to swallow her pride and face you. And you just brushed her off."

"I know, don't remind me," said Chad dejectedly. "What am I going to do?"

"Just go talk to her, man. I'm sure she'll take you back."

------------------------------

"Well, if that's the way you feel, Arnold, then I'll just pack my bags!" exclaimed Gabriella, stomping angrily across the stage.

"If this about Hope—" began Troy.

"No, this not about _Hope_," Gabriella said the name with distaste. "You spend all the time you want with her and any other girl, as far as I'm concerned!"

Troy shrugged, "She happens to be the daughter of Nicholas Doherty, you know, the Broadway director? She was trying to get me a part. I thought that's what you wanted, Minnie. I thought that's why we came to the city."

"That _is_ why we came to the city," said Gabriella. "We were going to be big."

"We _are_ going to be big . . . and if Hope just happens to help us get there, then what's the problem?"

Gabriella groaned with aggravation. "The problem is, Arnold, that Hope will help _you_ get there. What about me? I thought we were in this together."

"We ar—"

Again, Gabriella cut him off. "No, Arnold, we're not. Not if you're all over some floozy that happens to have money and connections."

Troy stepped closer to Gabriella, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. "You're all I ever wanted, Gabriella."

For a second, Gabriella believed him.

"_CUT!_" shouted Ms. Darbus. "What is going on here, Mr. Bolton?" she asked angrily. "I thought _you_ knew your lines!"

"That is my line, isn't it?" asked Troy in confusion. What had he done wrong?

Gabriella began to giggle softly behind him, along with the dozen extras and crew members. "Now who messed up, Bolton? That's what you get for bugging me about always calling you Troy."

It was then that Troy realized he had said 'Gabriella' instead of 'Minnie.'

'_Way to go, Bolton,' _he thought with a slight blush. _'Way to get caught up in the moment.'_

Kelsi suddenly entered the auditorium, power walking down the aisle with a thick stack of folded papers in her hand. "Ms. Darbus!" she exclaimed. "They're here, they're here!"

Ms. Darbus turned to face her, the anger draining momentarily from her features. "What's here?"

"The rough drafts of the programs!" she said with a colossal smile. "Here, take a look." Kelsi passed around the programs to Ms. Darbus and the few students who were watching the rehearsals from the first row.

Troy jumped off the stage and then helped Gabriella down. They hurried to Kelsi to see what was so important. "Here," said Kelsi, shoving a couple programs in their direction. She seemed ridiculously happy.

On the outside cover, written in a fancy, flowing script, were the words:

_East High School Proudly Presents_

_**Twinkle Towne: A Musical**_

_Written and Composed by Kelsi Nielsen_

_Produced by the East High Drama Club_

_With Special Thanks to Ms. Melanie Darbus_

_Spring 2006_

Some elaborate stars and the classic Greek comedy/tragedy drama masks accompanied the words. On the inside left flap, there were profiles of the main characters under the large title, _Starring:_

_**Troy Bolton** as Arnold Bradshaw_

_Troy is a 17-year-old East High junior involved in_

_Varsity basketball, baseball, and soccer._

_This is his first year in the Drama Club_

_and his first role in an East High musical._

_**Gabriella Montez **as Minnie Greer_

_Gabriella is a 16-year-old new East High junior. She_

_is a member of the Scholastic Decathlon Team_

_and a new member of the Drama Club. This is_

_her first role in an East High musical._

_**Alan Anderson **as The Incredible Mr. Schain_

_Alan is—_

Troy stopped reading at Alan's profile. "Cool," he said, nodding his approval and handing the program back to Kelsi.

"Did you see?" she asked. " '_Written and Composed by Kelsi Nielson;' _that's me!"

Gabriella laughed. "Yes, Kelsi, that's you. You even get your own profile."

On the inside right flap, Kelsi did, indeed, have her own profile.

**_Kelsi Nielsen_ – **_Composer/Writer_

_Kelsi is a 17-year-old East High junior. This is her third_

_year in the Drama Club and her first ever musical_

_production. She plays the piano and acoustic guitar_

_and has been composing songs since she was ten._

_Kelsi also won the East High Short Story Writing Contest_

_earlier this year. Congratulations on all your achievements!_

"You're going to be famous, Playmaker," Troy told her with a teasing grin.

Kelsi blushed. "I can't believe _my_ musical is actually going to be performed . . . in front of an audience!" she said with glee. "And you two," she looked at Gabriella and Troy, "will be perfect as Arnold and Minnie. It's just like I've always dreamed."

Troy and Gabriella exchanged looks. "Um, we'll try our best to make you proud, Kelsi," said Gabriella.

On the inside middle flap was a summary:

_Arnold Bradshaw and Minnie Greer, two childhood friends_

_from a small Indiana town, are determined to_

_become Broadway stars. They pack up their bags_

_and head to New York City, with hopes as high as_

_the Statue of Liberty. However, life, love, and_

_making it big isn't always as easy as it seems._

_Follow Arnold and Minnie as they face the vicissitudes_

_of 1929, as they live their dreams, as they realize_

_there is more to life than performing, and as_

_they end up falling in love during the process._

'_**Twinkle Towne **is a robust musical, filled with laughter,_

_song, dance, and drama!'—_Wildcat Weekly_, five stars._

------------------------------

Friday was as uneventful as a Friday could be. For Troy and Gabriella, there were classes followed by more _Twinkle Towne_ rehearsals. Troy did notice, however, that Chad had taken Taylor aside to talk to her during lunch. She hadn't joined them at the table afterwards, leaving Troy to wonder if the outcome of the conversation was a positive one.

Today was Saturday and he had yet to speak to Chad about the Taylor situation. It had slipped his mind after school and this morning, all of his thoughts were focused on one thing: Gabriella. Their date was today. Well, really, it was tonight, but they were going to spend the whole day together as a prelude to the usual dinner and a movie.

In his room, Troy smoothed his shirt and ruffled his hair with a still-damp towel. He ran his fingers through it once and then clapped his hands together as he let out a deep breath.

"Okay," he said to himself in the mirror. "Don't screw up, Bolton. Try not to embarrass yourself _too _much."

He rubbed his hands on his ripped jeans as his palms became a little sweaty and grabbed his keys before going down the stairs, two at a time. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. The bright white numbers flashed 10:42. He was supposed to pick up Gabriella at eleven. Though she only lived about ten minutes away, he liked to be a little early, especially for something as big as this.

"Bye, Dad!" he yelled as he headed out door. His mom had already left for work. She was a real estate agent and becoming quite popular in the New Mexico region. She had even started attending out-of-state conferences and was ranked thirty-eight on the list of the country's top fifty real estate agents.

"Don't do anything stupid, don't do anything stupid," Troy muttered as he turned the key in the ignition of his black, Land Rover LR3.

He sighed, resting his hand on the gearshift. "Here we go."

------------------------------

Troy pulled up in Gabriella's driveway shortly afterwards. Her mom, too, had already left for work and so she was home alone. In fact, she was downstairs watching for him through the living room window.

'_He's early,'_ she thought with a smile.

Gabriella hurried out of the house, firmly pulling the door shut behind her. She giggled slightly as Troy immediately jumped out of the car to open the passenger side door.

"Save that for tonight," she told him.

Troy only grinned. "Ready?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded, sliding into the leather seat. "How far is this BioPark?"

"Not too far," answered Troy. "It's in Barelas, which is this really old-fashioned, historical neighborhood," he explained. "I'd say about twenty minutes."

The two continued to chat for the next ten minutes, talking about everything from their favorite foods to Jason's sudden interest in Kelsi. Gabriella was surprised at the ease with which she could talk to Troy. She loved finding out little things about him and could tell him practically everything. Sometimes, she felt as if he could understand her thoughts or emotions with just one look.

"I can't believe Jason has a crush on Kelsi," Troy said with incredulity.

Gabriella nodded her agreement. "He's got her completely freaked out, Troy," she told him.

Troy switched lanes as they passed a sign that said, _Albuquerque Biological Park – Next Two Exits_.

"Oh no," Gabriella suddenly clutched the armrest as she leaned forward. "I forgot my cell phone."

"No big," Troy took his eyes off the road for a second as he shot her a smile. "You can use my mine."

Gabriella shook her head. "Wrong, it is a big deal. My mom gets really worried when I don't have my phone and she doesn't know your number. If she calls me for something, my phone will be ringing away at home."

"I think you'll be okay. I mean, your mom knows you're with me and if something happens, she'll be the first to know."

"You don't get it, Troy. One time, my mom couldn't make it to one my science competitions and it ran late. The bus was two hours late getting us back to school and my mom had called the police because I forgot to tell her. She thought I'd been kidnapped or something," Gabriella explained. "She watches too many Dateline Investigations."

"Well, why don't you call her at work and tell her you left your phone at home? You can give her my number in case she wants to talk to you."

Gabriella stayed silent for a long while. "It's not only that, Troy," she finally said. "It's just that . . . I'm expecting a call from—" she hesitated for a second before finishing, "from a friend."

"A friend?" asked Troy, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She was twisting the short strap of her purse around her finger.

"From Sun High," she said. "It's someone I've known for a long time and it's really important."

Gabriella looked at him, genuine concern etched on her face. Troy sighed, unable to resist her sad face.

"I guess we can double back," he said, taking the first exit.

She grinned and gave him a slight hug from the passenger seat. "I promise, just let me get my phone and then, we can spend the rest of the day together."

"Deal."

------------------------------

"I'll only be a second," said Gabriella, as she unlatched her seat belt and stepped out of the Land Rover. She heard Troy's door open and slam shut.

"I'll go with you," he said, walking around to her side of the car.

Gabriella smiled. "It's okay, Troy. I'm a big girl; I can get it myself."

"I know; I just want to come," said Troy.

They walked up the path to the door. Gabriella searched for her house keys in her small purse.

"Oh, I see," she said playfully. "You thought you take this wonderful opportunity we've been given."

Troy gave her a confused look. "What opportunity?" he asked.

Gabriella found her keys at last and unlocked the door. "I just figured, empty house, cozy couch, dangerous you and maybe me."

She opened the door and Troy followed her in. "Dangerous me?" he asked with a laugh. "And what gives you the idea that I would be like that?"

"I might have heard some rumors," she replied in a purposely vague fashion.

"Such as..." Troy left the sentence hanging.

"Such as you and Breanna Phillips at her house last summ—" Gabriella's breath suddenly caught in her throat.

Ms. Montez was standing in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water. She placed it on the small dining table, in front of a boy with dark brown hair who had his back to Troy and Gabriella.

Even though she could only see the back of his head, Gabriella softly asked, "Tyler?"

The boy turned around instantly, a massive smile on his face. "Gabriella!" he exclaimed.

Gabriella smiled back brightly and ran into Tyler's open arms. He picked her up and swung her around, causing her to laugh happily. After setting Gabriella down and enveloping her in an affectionate hug, Tyler did the one thing Troy hadn't been able to do: he kissed her.

------------------------------

"_Now every time I see you, I pretend I'm fine  
When I wanna reach out to you  
But I turn and I walk and I let it ride..."_

------------------------------

* * *

Lyrics – Mariah Carey, _Don't Forget About Us_

**Ridiculously Long Author's Note: **Yes, it's a cliffhanger! Completely evil of me, but sorry, it had to happen. I actually thought about starting his chapter with Tyler's return and explaining the whole thing. Instead, I think I'll explain things in the next chapter, because really, there's not that much to explain. However, I will say, this not another fic where Gabriella's villainous boyfriend comes back and tries to steal her away from Troy, often abusively/forcefully or something to that extent. **Tyler's not a bad guy. **Just thought you should know. My stomach churned as I typed that last bit.

By the way, I decided to use the name Tyler because of **xochrissy**'s fic, _White Shadows_. It's an awesome Zanessa story that you should definitely check out if you haven't already. This is kind of my tribute to it. So if you're reading this, xochrissy, I hope you don't mind!

Troy's mom is a real estate agent because it's impossible for his dad to be a basketball coach and live in the kind of house that they live in. She needed a well paying job (note how she's a really _rich_ real estate agent). In addition, I've always imagined the Boltons and Evanses to have a lot of money. Even the Montezes are well off for only having two people in the household. By the way, the LR3 isn't that expensive; it's only about $40,000 or so, so it's reasonable for Troy to have one.

Also, the BioPark, Tingley Beach, the Shakespearean community, etc, are all real. I did some research and tried to find something for Troy and Gabriella to do, but really, I couldn't find much. Anyway, I tried to base them around the Paradise Hills area because they have a country/golf club (as featured in HSM 2) and nice homes. It seemed like the most logical area for our characters to live in, not to mention, it's right in Albuquerque and seems to be kind of a posh place. The travel distances are approximate, but close, and yes, Barelas is actually an historical Albuquerque community. Breanna Phillips is the actual name of one of the cheerleaders from the movie. There was no photo, so I hope she's one of the prettier ones.

Oh, there's a line I borrowed from _Boy Meets World_. It's very obvious if you've seen the show and the episode, though I did switch two words. I changed the musical from winter to spring because there's no way you can have auditions in January for a winter musical.

Sorry I was so slow with this update! Chapter five decided to just write itself while I was in the middle of typing chapter three! It's a good chapter, too...I can't say if Troy & Gabriella get together, but I think you'll like it...parts of it, anyway, so stay tuned!


	4. So Sick

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own High School Musical or I'd be filthy rich by now. _High School Musical_ and all related characters, places, and plots are the copyright of Disney. I also don't own the lyrics used in this and/or other chapters. I do, however, own all the ideas for the _Twinkle Towne _musical, including the summary, plot, script, original songs, and anything else you might not recognize.

**A/N: **The chapter title comes from the song "So Sick" by Ne-Yo. I was originally going to use those lyrics, but these seemed more fitting. As you know, I've changed the musical to spring and so it's the middle of April in this chapter.

**Us Against the World**

Chapter Four:

_So Sick_

------------------------------

"_Staring out at the rain with a heavy heart_ 

_It's the end of the world in my mind..."_

-----------------------------

"Get up."

Troy grumbled softly and turned in his bed.

"Dude, c'mon!" exclaimed Chad, gently shaking him.

"Go away," mumbled Troy, pulling the covers over his head.

Chad sighed. "Man, you haven't been out of your room all weekend! It's Sunday; let's go do something."

"It's early," said Troy from under the sheets.

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon!" Chad cried incredulously, pulling aside the curtains for evidence. Bright sunlight filled the room, streaming directly onto Troy's face.

"Leave me alone," said Troy, curling up under the blanket.

"Listen, you have to get up. You can't just keep moping around like this," Chad tried to persuade him.

"I'm not moping," came the muffled reply.

"It's been a week, Troy. Staying holed up in your room isn't going to change things," Chad told him. "Besides," he added, "you're going to get fat."

"I still work out," Troy protested defensively, finally sitting up and pulling the covers down to his waist.

"Nice to see your face again," said Chad with a smile. "I'd almost forgotten what you look like."

"Who let you up here?" grumbled Troy.

"You mom; she was worried."

Troy waved it off. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

Chad raised his eyebrows in skepticism. "Let me remind you again: you've been in your room since the minute you came home Friday afternoon. In fact, you've spent _every_ minute that you weren't in school in this room. Look, whatever happened last Saturday, you've got to let it go. Or at least _try_ to pretend that you're okay."

Troy glared at him. "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if it was you instead of me."

"Maybe, maybe not. But it didn't happen to me. It happened to you. And I've never seen you so . . ."

"Pathetic?" supplied Troy.

Chad shrugged. "Well, I was going to say 'miserable,' but pathetic works."

Troy sighed. "I'm miserable and pathetic. It's just that you don't know what I felt the day Tyler came into the picture."

"Actually, I don't think you finished the story," said Chad.

"Then let me tell you . . ."

------------------------------

_Troy's breath caught in his throat as Tyler leaned down and kissed Gabriella. They broke apart, both with smiles on their faces. Tyler looked up and finally noticed Troy standing in the hall. He smiled, sticking one hand out in front of him, the other arm still wrapped around Gabriella._

"_I'm Tyler Hemmings. You are?"_

_Troy took a second to regain his train of thought and stepped forward. "Troy Bolton," he said, briefly clasping Tyler's hand. "How exactly do you and Gabriella know each other?"_

_Tyler laughed. "Well, I'm her boyfriend."_

_Troy gasped softly, but sharply. No one seemed to notice. "Oh," he said quietly._

"_Um, Tyler went to Sun High with me," Gabriella explained. She looked uncomfortably from Troy to Tyler and then back again. "We dated for a couple years."_

"_Technically," said Tyler, turning to face her, "we're still dating. We never broke up before you moved."_

_All this was too much for Troy to take in. He didn't want to think about Gabriella ever dating anyone, let alone the guy standing in front of him. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked in what he hoped was a casual manner._

"_I actually finished all my classes during the first semester and have nothing to do until graduation. I missed Gabriella so much that I managed to track down her new cell number and we started talking a few days ago. Then I figured I had nothing better to do, so I drove all the way down here to Albuquerque to surprise her."_

_Troy tried to absorb this new information, but mind was hazy. "You're a senior?"_

_Tyler nodded._

"_Uh, excuse us for a second," said Troy, as he pulled Gabriella into the living room and out of Tyler's earshot._

"_Why didn't you tell me?" Troy asked her quietly._

_She shrugged gently. "I didn't think it was important. We lost touch for a while and then, we were just talking."_

"_Wait a minute," said Troy, as he came to a realization. "Is he the 'friend' you were supposed to get an important call from today? He's the reason I turned around and came back?"_

_Gabriella looked down at the floor, seemingly studying the carpet._

"_Yeah," she replied softly. "I would have told you, but I thought it would have been too weird."_

_Troy ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth in frustration. _

"_But I thought we . . . you and I were . . ." he trailed off. "Never mind," he said, coming to a sudden halt. "I have to go." He walked promptly to the front door._

"_Okay," Gabriella said slowly, raising her head to meet his eyes. "Maybe we can go on our date some other time?"_

_Troy gave her a small smile, despite the negative emotions racing through his bloodstream. Perhaps there was still hope for them._

"_Sure," he said. "I'll call you."_

 _Gabriella nodded. "Well, I better get back to Tyler."_

_She shut the door behind him as Tyler came into the hallway. _

"_Who was that?" he asked._

"_Oh, just . . . a friend."_

-----------------------------

"Wow, some story," said Chad, after Troy had explained the full scale of things.

"Yeah, some story," agreed Troy. "Now will you let me sulk in peace?"

Chad gave a short chuckle. "No way. I don't care how bad the Gabriella situation is; it's no reason to brood for a week."

"I think it's more than enough reason to brood," objected Troy.

"This isn't like you," said Chad. "You never let anything get you down, let alone a girl."

"Chad, this isn't just any girl; it's _Gabriella_."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know, it's Gabriella the Wonder Girl. This spell she has over you, it's—it's crazy! I've never seen you so hung up on girl. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you stew in your misery."

"What do you plan to do?" asked Troy.

"Oh, I've already got a plan. Get up and get ready, because we're meeting the guys—and Taylor—at the Flamingo."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Taylor?" he asked. "Does that mean you two talked it out?"

"Kind of," replied Chad. "I guess we're at least friends."

"What time are they supposed to meet us there?"

Chad checked one of his three watches. "Ten minutes ago," he answered. "I didn't think it would take this long to coax you out of hiding."

------------------------------

Fifteen minutes later, Troy and Chad arrived at the Pink Flamingo, a local diner where many students from East High often hung out. Zeke, Jason, and Taylor sat in a u-shaped booth in the back, sipping soft drinks and talking animatedly.

Troy turned on his heel when he spotted who was sitting with them.

"You didn't tell me _they _would be here!" he hissed at Chad.

 Chad peered around Troy to the booth. Gabriella and Tyler were sitting across from the other three, laughing about something.

He frowned. "I might have told Taylor to call Gabriella, but I didn't think she would bring _him_. Doesn't she know he's the reason you've been living in a hole?"

Troy glared. "No. I've been pretending that everything's fine in front of her. She thinks I'm okay with the guy."

At that moment, Taylor spotted the two whispering by the entrance and waved them over.

"Oh, hey," Chad said loudly, waving back and acting as if he hadn't seen them.

"You two are _so _late!" she complained.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for half an hour," said Zeke.

"This is my fourth refill," added Jason.

"Sorry, guys," apologized Chad. "Troy took a bit longer to get ready than I thought he would."

Troy glared at Chad once more as Zeke, Jason, and Taylor moved over. Chad slid into the booth first, placing him across from Gabriella and Tyler across from Troy.

"Hey, nice to see you again," said Tyler. "You're the guy that was at Gabriella's house, right?"

Troy could only nod.

"So," said Chad, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Tyler," came the one-worded reply simultaneously from four people.

"I seem to be the new one in the group," said Tyler. "I guess it's a ritual to Twenty Question me."

'_What makes him think he's in our group?'_ thought Troy with a sour look.

Chad laughed. "I guess we missed the interrogation." His face took on a serious look. "Mind going through it again?"

"Uh, sure," said Tyler, giving a weak smile. "I was born and raised in San Diego, I went to Sun High, where I met and dated Gabriella, I'm graduating next month, and I turn nineteen in December. That pretty much sums it up."

"Why are you here?" asked Chad, trying to keep the harshness out of his voice.

"I missed Gabriella," he replied simply, pulling her closer for emphasis.

"Where are you staying?" asked Chad in that same hard tone.

"Gabriella's guest room."

The waitress arrived at their table to ask if she could get anything for Troy or Chad.

"Um . . ." Troy looked around at the all the faces. "I'm really not feeling well. You shouldn't have dragged me out here," he said, stopping his stare at Chad. "So I'm going to go."

He got up abruptly and almost knocked over the waitress on his way out of the booth.

"Sorry," he mumbled, before heading out the door.

It wasn't until Troy had made it outside and around the corner to where they had parked that he realized Chad had driven.

"_Damn!" _he whispered, lightly slamming his fist on the hood of Chad's car. He would have to go back and get the keys.

As he turned around, he saw Chad pushing open the door of the Pink Flamingo. He walked towards Troy, jingling the car keys in front of him.

"C'mon, I'll give you a ride home. It's my fault you're out here in the first place."

"I told you I didn't feel up to it."

"I know. I didn't know Tyler was going to be here. I thought it would be a good excuse to get you to talk to Gabriella. You know, works things out."

"There's nothing to work out," said Troy. "She thinks we're just friends now . . . not that we were ever anything more before. She hasn't even mentioned our date."

"What about that Tyler guy?" asked Chad as they got in his car. "Is he with Gabriella again?"

Troy shrugged. "I don't know, but I hope not. He's with her all the time. He takes her to school, picks her up from school, drives her around everywhere . . . I even called the other day and he picked up the phone. Safe to say, I hung up without saying a word. I don't think Gabriella has caller ID or she would have called me back." He sighed. "I haven't really talked to her since he arrived. I miss it."

Chad stopped at a red light and turned to look at Troy. "I can't believe he's staying at her house."

"Her mom's too nice to say no. Besides, where else would he stay? It sounds like he's going to be here for a while."

"But they used to date!" exclaimed Chad. "Isn't Gabriella's mom worried about him sleeping down the hall?"

Troy shook his head. "Ugh . . . I don't know, but I wish you wouldn't give him mental images like that."

"Sorry, dude," said Chad as he pulled into Troy's driveway.

Troy unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car.

"I had a _great _time," he told Chad, as he leaned down into the window.

"I said sorry. Oh, by the way, I told the guys you had a nasty stomach bug. Just thought you should know in case they ask you how you're doing tomorrow at school."

Troy gaped. "Thanks. Couldn't you have just said the flu or a fever or something doesn't include puking my guts out and diarrhea?"

Chad shrugged one shoulder. "Hey, it was the first thing I could think of."

"Yeah, thanks man."

Troy made his way into the quiet house after Chad drove off. His mom was at a conference and his dad wasn't home. He began to climb the flight of stairs to his room when he a car pull up in the driveway.

'_Please let that be next door,' _he thought. He was in no mood for visitors.

But of course, fate wasn't on his side. The doorbell rang a few seconds later.

Troy grumbled as he padded down the stairs and flung open the door.

"What do you want?" he asked in a rude fashion without even looking to see who it was.

"Uh, Chad told us you were sick and so I came by to make sure you were okay."

It was Gabriella.

"Oh, well, thanks," said Troy in a softer tone, "but I'm fine, really."

He heard a door shut and soon, Tyler joined Gabriella outside the screen door.

"Hey, man," greeted Tyler.

Troy gave a small wave and pushed open the door. "Why don't you guys come in?"

"I know we haven't spent much time together this week," Gabriella said, as Troy lead them into the living room.

She and Tyler took a seat across from Troy. They were sitting a little too close to each other, in Troy's opinion.

"You look awful," said Tyler. "It must be some bug."

"Thanks, yeah, it's a terrible bug that just won't go away," said Troy, giving Tyler a pointed look.

"I was thinking maybe you and Tyler could get to know each other a bit," said Gabriella, looking hopefully at Troy. "That way, the three of us can hang out more often. I miss spending time with you, Troy."

"Yeah, me too," said Troy. "But this week's been a little crazy."

"So what do you like to do?" asked Tyler.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck distractedly. He really didn't want to spend any more time with Tyler than necessary, but if it made Gabriella happy . . .

"I play sports," answered Troy. "It's mainly all I do. Basketball's kinda my thing."

"Oh, so you're a jock. You look like one," said Tyler.

Troy furrowed his brows. "Um, thanks?" He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. "Hey, how about a round of one-on-one?" he asked.

"Troy, you shouldn't," interjected Gabriella. "You need to rest."

Troy was about to ask why when he remembered he was supposed to be sick. "Oh, I'm fine," he said. "I mean, I can still play. The bug comes and goes."

"Cool, let's do it," said Tyler.

"All right," said Troy, rubbing his palms together as he stood.

Gabriella worriedly followed them into the garage. "Are you sure you won't faint or something?" she asked.

"I don't faint," said Troy, grabbing a basketball. He tucked it under his arm and walked backwards so he could see Gabriella. "Chill."

As Tyler made his way to the court, Troy started dribbling to warm up.

"So do you like basketball?" Troy asked him.

Tyler shrugged. "It's okay, but I'm more of a lacrosse kind of guy."

Troy nodded appreciatively. "Lacrosse, huh? I never really got into it, but it seems cool."

"Yeah, I love it. But more than that, I'm into poetry."

"Poetry?" Troy asked skeptically.

Tyler seemed embarrassed. "Yeah. Most of the guys on the lacrosse team make fun of me, but I don't regret it. It's how I met Gabriella, at a café where there are regular poetry recitals."

"That's . . . _weird_," said Troy, as he stopped weaving the ball through his legs.

Tyler laughed. "No weirder than a basketball player who sings." At Troy's look, he explained, "Gabriella told me about the musical."

"Okay, so we're even," said Troy with a sheepish smile.

Tyler grabbed the basketball from Troy's hands. "So are we going to do this or what?"

"Oh, we're going to do this," said Troy. "Just remember one thing: _I don't go easy on anyone._"

-----------------------------

Forty-five minutes later, Troy and Tyler made their way back into the house, dripping with sweat and panting hard. Even though Tyler was a couple inches taller, he hadn't known Troy was so good and so, he had lost . . . by a lot.

"Jeez, you really don't go easy, do you?" panted Tyler.

"Nope," replied Troy with a chuckle. "I've got a standard to live up to," he said jokingly.

Gabriella had come inside ten minutes into the game.

"Are you two finally done?" she asked, upon hearing their voices inside the house.

"He killed me," Tyler told her.

Gabriella smiled. "I could have told you that before you even began."

Troy smiled, too. At least she had faith in his skills.

Tyler checked his watch. "It's getting close to dinner time," he said. "We don't want to make your mom wait," he told Gabriella.

 She nodded and went to get her purse. Tyler turned to Troy.

"But hey, it was fun hanging out and stuff."

"Yeah," replied Troy. As much as he hated to admit it, he did have fun and Tyler wasn't that bad.

"Um, you can call me at Gabriella's . . . you know, if you want to hang out again or something."

Troy flashed him a genuine smile. "Sure, if you're willing to get your butt kicked again."

Tyler laughed. "Next time, we'll do something _I'm_ good at, okay?"

"Deal," said Troy. "As long as it's not poetry," he added as an afterthought.

Gabriella came back into the room and started to follow Tyler out. "I know we still haven't really talked," she told Troy from the threshold. "But I promise we will."

"Yeah, okay," said Troy. "Like you said, maybe we can all do something together."

She grinned. "Okay."

-----------------------------

"You said you wanted to hang out with _both_ of them?" Chad asked dubiously.

"Well, I didn't say it exactly like that."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude, that's how she's going to take it. I can't believe you had your chance to be alone with Gabriella and you decided to bring Tyler into it."

"I didn't bring him into it, he was already there. I couldn't just say I only wanted to spend time with her," disputed Troy.

"Dude, I feel bad for you," said Chad. "Really, I do. I can't believe that guy would just come in and take Gabriella away from you like that."

But Troy shook his head. "No, he didn't take her away from me, Chad. She was never mine. In fact, she's been _his_ since her freshman year."

"It must be rough."

"You know, the worst part about it is that I can't even hate Tyler."

"Why not?" asked Chad. "I would definitely hate him if I was in your position."

"It's not that easy," said Troy. "Besides," he added guiltily, "I kind of like him."

Chad gawked speechlessly. _"What?!"_ he exclaimed. "You _like_ Tyler?"

Troy shrugged half-heartedly. "He's cool," he said. "We don't have a lot in common, but he seems like a nice guy."

However, Chad was still incredulous. "And you get all this from a game of one-on-one?"

"You _can_ talk and play at the same time. Gabriella wanted us to be friends and I'm trying my best here."

"Oh, so you're doing this for Gabriella?"

"If being friends with Tyler is the only way I'm going to hang out with her, then I'll do it. It just so happens that Tyler's also a decent guy."

------------------------------

"_Because you live, girl_ 

_My world has twice as many stars in the sky..._

_Because you live there's a reason why_

 _I carry on when I lose the fight..."_

------------------------------

"So, Gabriella," said Tyler, as he used the metal tongs to flip the chicken on the grill, "Just how close _are _you and Troy?"

He seemed nonchalant, but Gabriella shrugged in an uncommitted fashion as she brought the glass pitcher of lemonade to the patio table.

"I haven't known him very long, yet I feel as if we've been friends for years," she told him truthfully. "He's so easy to talk to and he's a really good listener."

"I'm assuming he knows you pretty well then?" asked Tyler, still keeping his eyes on the grill.

Gabriella stopped and looked up at him. "Well, he doesn't know _everything_ about me, but yeah, he knows a lot." She eyed Tyler suspiciously. "Just what exactly are you getting at?"

"Nothing, nothing," Tyler told her, rotating whole cobs of corn to grill the sides. "I was just wondering. It's good to see you've made a friend here."

"Wow, we haven't had a barbeque in so long," said Ms. Montez, as she joined the two teens outside on the deck. "That grill hasn't had a man to fire it up in ages," she said, nodding towards Tyler.

"Oh, it's no problem," Tyler replied easily. "After all, I _was_ in charge of the Sun High Annual Clam Bake and Cook-Out for two years."

Ms. Montez smiled in reminiscence. "Yes, I remember that. I had to _drag_ Gabriella out there the first year. That was before she met you, of course."

Tyler's tongs clacked as he lifted the food off the grill and onto the serving plates. "Well, dinner's ready," he said, carrying the plates to the table.

The three of them took their respective seats.

 "How was school today?" asked Ms. Montez, as she passed the corn to her daughter.

"Um, okay. Ms. Darbus gave us a new rehearsal schedule since opening night is only a month away. I'll be staying late everyday until then."

Ms. Montez's eyes widened a little. "Everyday?" she asked. "Isn't that a bit much? After all, you have schoolwork to keep up with . . ."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, mom, it's fine. We only practice for a couple of hours. Besides, Ms. Darbus said we're lucky she doesn't call us in on the weekends—yet."

"And what do you do while Gabriella's at school all day?" Ms. Montez asked Tyler.

Tyler waved it off as he took a bite of his vegetables. "Oh, just this and that. I've been filling out some stuff for college in the fall and catching up with the guys back home. Are you sure you don't mind if I stay with you all summer?" he asked doubtfully.

Ms. Montez looked surprised. "Tyler, you know you've always been welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical when you called to say you were coming to surprise Gabriella. I still can't believe you drove all the way down here for her."

"Well, Dad's always been cool about letting me do what I want and when I told him I wanted to do this, he said, 'Have fun; see you at graduation.' I'm so glad you're letting me stay, though. I was afraid I would have to head back after the weekend."

"No, no; stay," said Ms. Montez. "You're practically family."

Gabriella, who had been pushing her corn around her plate with her fork, decided to cut in at this point. "Speaking of your graduation," she said loudly, "When is it?"

"May 20th," Tyler answered around a mouthful of chicken. "I was hoping the two of you would come with me."

Ms. Montez frowned. "May 20th," she repeated. "That's in three weeks; I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. We've got a major project that deadlines that week."

Tyler frowned, too. "That's too bad. I really wanted you to be there." He turned to Gabriella. "But you'll go with me, right? We used to talk about graduating like it was some unattainable goal, and now, I've got less than a month to go." He shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

"Yeah, count me in," said Gabriella. "You know I wouldn't miss your graduation, Tyler." She smiled broadly. "I only hope Ms. Darbus doesn't decide to hold dress rehearsals that weekend. My opening night's the week after, you know."

"We'll come up with something," Tyler guaranteed. "There's no way you're missing _my_ big night."

------------------------------

The next morning, Gabriella's mom had to leave for work a little before eight, so Tyler insisted on dropping Gabriella off at school. He stopped near the front entrance.

"What are your plans for today?" Gabriella asked before she got out of the car.

"Uh, I think I'm going to see what kinds of places are hidden here in Albuquerque. Maybe I can find a poetry café or two? Oh, and I have to call Michael to remind him to pick up a cap and gown set for me next week." He raised his eyebrows, "It's not a graduation without a cap and gown, is it?"

Gabriella laughed. "I think the mortarboards have always been my favorite part," she conceded.

A shrill bell rang through the grounds, signaling a warning for students lingering on the quad.

"Well, you better get up there," said Tyler, pointing to the school building. "And if you see your friend, Troy, tell him to stop by and see me sometime. We'll have a rematch or something."

She smirked at him. "Do you enjoy losing horribly or do you seriously think a rematch will make a difference?"

Tyler shrugged. "Troy's cool. Besides, I need _some_ kind of man-to-man social interaction."

"Oh, I forgot; guys don't talk to other guys on the phone for more than five minutes." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'll tell him, though. It's nice to see you two get along."

"Hey, _su amigo es mi amigo_," assured Tyler. "Now, get to class before you're late."

"Yes, _mother_," Gabriella said jokingly, as she shut the door of Tyler's Jeep and ran up the brick steps.

------------------------------

"Hey! Gabriella!" a voice cut through the loud ramblings of dozens of teenagers exiting the school.

Gabriella stopped walking and turned to look back in the direction of the voice. Troy stuck out a hand to get her attention as he fought his way through the crowd. He finally made his way next to her.

"Hey," he said, slightly breathless from his effort to find her. "I've barely had a chance to talk to you."

"Um, I've been busy, Troy," she replied easily.

"Well, do you need a ride home? I know Tyler's been taking you to school and everything, but you could tell him not to come or something. It's not like we've spent a lot of time together lately."

"Oh." Gabriella seemed to think it over. "Well . . ."

As she was about to respond, two loud honks came from a white Jeep by the curb.

"He's here already," she finished, as Tyler stuck his head out of the window

"Gabriella, let's go!"

She hugged her books to her chest. "I've got to go, Troy."

With that, she left Troy Bolton standing on the brick promenade, dazed and confused.

Once in the car, Tyler asked, "Hey, was that Troy?"

Gabriella nodded.

------------------------------

"I'm back!" exclaimed Tyler, as he shut the door to the Montez house behind him.

Gabriella came out to the foyer upon hearing his voice. His cheeks were flushed, he was out of breath, and he had a pair of cleats tied together, dangling around his neck.

"Have fun?" asked Gabriella.

Tyler grinned and nodded. "It was awesome," he told her.

"And just where exactly did you go?" She wasn't sure if Tyler had told her his plans this morning, but she couldn't remember if he had.

"I went rock climbing with Troy," he replied. "We went down to the sports complex first and then we climbed some real rocks. The guy in charge of the rock wall at the complex had a flyer with directions to this awesome spot. We did get lost a couple times, though. Turns out, Albuquerque roads can be longer than you'd think. Oh, and we passed this little coffee shop . . . twice. Anyway, we pulled over because I wanted to check it out, you know, in case they had anything going on."

 By this time, Tyler had made his way to the living room, where he had collapsed on the sofa and then started untying his shoes. Gabriella had followed and now sat and watched as he placed his shoes, along with his cleats, next to the sofa.

"Troy said he asked you to come," Tyler said softly, looking up at Gabriella.

"Oh, um," Gabriella looked around the room uncomfortably. "I must not have got the message."

"I told him it wasn't your type of thing, but he insisted that you would appreciate something new."

"Maybe," she said wistfully. "Now, what were saying about that café you found?" she asked, deliberately changing the subject.

 Tyler was caught up immediately. "Oh, it's great!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Not exactly what you'd find in San Diego, but brilliant, nonetheless. It's a bit small, but I think that makes it kind of cozy. I picked up a list of upcoming events; they're having a poetry reading on the twelfth. It's open to the public."

"Really?" asked Gabriella with half-hearted interest.

Tyler didn't seem to notice. "Mm-hmm, I'm thinking about signing up. What do you say, Gabriella? Next Friday, you and I at a coffee shop, listening to the works of local poets? Just like old times?"

He looked at her expectantly.

"Hey, if you recite poetry, then it _will_ be old times," she said with a smile.

"Great, so don't make any plans, okay? I'm thinking we'll go at about seven-ish. That's after your rehearsals, isn't it?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Great!" Tyler exclaimed again. He grabbed his two pairs of shoes and bound up the stairs in excitement.

------------------------------

"_Because you live, girl_

 _My world has everything I need to survive_ 

_Because you live, I live..._

_I live"_

------------------------------

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**A/N: **Lyrics – Jesse McCartney, _Because You Live_

I originally had a lot more to this chapter, but the draft was handwritten a very long time ago and I'm not quite sure where it is… Anyway, I decided to go ahead and post what I had, even though it isn't exactly what I planned. Most of the next chapter is also typed up and once I fill in the missing pieces, I'll post it as well. Sorry for any mistakes; I'm not sure how much I proofread this version. Sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait as well.


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